Use Care On Streets If You Need To Drive

By The Tampa Tribune

Even if a hurricane only brushes the Tampa Bay area this season, driving in rainy, windy conditions requires caution.

The best advice is the stay off the roads unless there is no choice.

''Don't drive if you don't have to, that's our No. 1 advice,'' said Lt. Sterling King of the Florida Highway Patrol.

More people lose their lives on roadways in inclement weather than in any other way, experts said.

But if you must get behind the wheel, use common sense and caution, King said. Keep safe distances between vehicles and drive within speed limits.

Don't assume that more rugged vehicles like Jeeps are better suited to bad-weather driving. Their height actually works against them in adverse weather, said Cindy Sharpe of AAA Auto Club South in Tampa.

''They're more prone to rollovers in high winds or on wet roads,'' Sharpe said. She urged sport-utility vehicle drivers to be particularly careful crossing bridges, on curved roads or while making turns. The vehicles' height reduces traction.

Should your vehicle skid and begin to spin, take your foot off the accelerator and do not try to brake. With a rear-wheel drive vehicle, shift into neutral if possible and turn the wheel in the direction you want to go, Sharpe said.

Severe skidding is less common with front-wheel drive because of improved traction, Sharpe said. But again, ease off the gas and keep off the brake. Don't try to turn, but wait for the wheels to grip the road.

Another tip is to avoid any roadway that's covered with water.

''Heck, you don't know how deep it is,'' King said. ''There could be an open manhole or a sinkhole under there.''

If you must drive through standing water, the best advice is to drive slowly.

Should the car stall, call for a tow rather than try to restart it, Sharpe said. Oil, dirt or other junk floating in the water could get into the engine and damage components.

If you come to an intersection with a traffic light out, treat the intersection as if it were a four-way stop.

That's not just common sense, King said. That's the law.